Why state govts should access fund for basic education development— UBEC

State governments have been encouraged to be pragmatic in meeting the requirements for accessing matching grant funds meant for the development of basic education.

This was one of the resolutions taken at the twenty-sixth quarterly meeting of the Universal Basic Education Commission (UBEC) management with the Executive Chairman of State Universal Basic Education Boards (SUBEB), held at the Government House, Makurdi. 

Executive secretary of UBEC, Aisha Garba, said the meeting with the Executive chairman of SUBEB was not just a routine engagement but a call to action to confront barriers hindering states from fully unlocking available resources, simplify administrative processes, and access funds to deliver the desired results for schoolchildren.

She stated that the theme, “unassessed and un-utilized UBE matching grant: The Nigerian child at the receiving end was a challenge for the stakeholders to confront how procedural delays and under-utilisation of funds can directly hinder the delivery of education to those who need it the most.

To tackle the challenges, Aisha Garba disclosed that UBEC has introduced significant reforms to enhance fund flexibility, accountability, and strategic alignment, with a revised funding designed to empower states to tailor their interventions according to local needs while upholding national standards and ensuring visible outcomes.

The UBEC executive secretary commended the Benue state government for accessing all its matching grants with no outstanding balance as of twenty-twenty-four, an achievement she noted speaks volumes of the diligence and focus to prioritise basic education

Minister of Education Doctor Maruf Ahausa, represented by the Deputy Director of Basic Education, Joy Onoja, told the delegates that significant progress has been made from resolution of the previous quarterly meeting to review the Universal Basic Education Act, twenty-twenty-four with the launch of over five a five-hundred-million-dollar loan-aid program to aid education of millions of Nigerian children.

Doctor Alausa insisted that the Ministry will continue to advocate for quality basic education as a fundamental right of every child by fostering strategic partnerships and implementing innovative solutions that change the education sector.

Governor Hyacinth Alia, while expressing appreciation to UBEC for accepting Benue to host the twenty-sixth quarterly meeting, acknowledged the importance of basic education, saying he has aligned with the renewed hope agenda of President Bola Tinubu through strategic reforms and physical investment in education.            

The governor highlighted key achievements in basic education to include access to UBE matching grants with zero delay, construction of over two hundred school structures, reintroduction of sporting activities in public schools, replacement of blackboards with whiteboards, minimum wage for teachers, and recruitment of nine thousand teachers, among others.

Executive chairman, Benue SUBEB, Doctor Grace Adagba, said it was a privilege to host the crucial gathering at a time the country was searching for answers to the persistent challenges confronting basic education.

Adagba, who is the Dean of SUBEB chairmen in North Central, urged her colleagues to use the forum for introspection by asking hard but necessary questions and making the meeting one to be remembered as the one they collectively decided to reaffirm that the Nigerian child deserves better.

The twenty-sixth quarterly meeting of UBEC management had in attendance all the Executive chairmen of SUBEB from the thirty-six states and the FCT.

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